After revolutionizing the world with a video game called Pong, Atari followed up with a similar hit called Breakout. The paddle and ball were still there, which the player now used to knock down a wall of bricks. Imitators followed in droves but one game stands out as a worthy competitor – Taito’s Arkanoid, released a decade later and full of interesting variations. Continue reading...

For those who grew tired of fighting the video game villains in the 80s, a new type of game arrived in 1989 that put an entire metropolis under your watchful eye. SimCity not only offered an alternative to battle-based games, it launched a whole new genre, the simulation game, one that proved enormously popular. Continue reading...

Two forms of entertainment dominated the lives of teenagers in the 80s - video arcades and MTV. Game manufacturer Bally/Midway pondered the riches they might receive by merging the two. To that end, they took one of the most popular bands of the era and plopped them into their very own video adventure. The result was Journey, a rocking arcade game that, despite the novelty, left almost as quickly as it arrived. Continue reading...

For close to a century, the Japanese company Nintendo busied itself making playing cards for the popular game Hanafuda. Off and on, they would dabble in other toy and business interests, but it wasn’t until the dawn of the video game age that the erstwhile humble company would make international history. One of Nintendo’s contributions to the gaming world was the Game & Watch, a handheld electronic game that put the power of video games into the very portable palm of the hand. Continue reading...

Pong wasn't the first commercial video game but it sure was the most successful, ushering in the first generation of electronic arcade games. Developed by video game guru Nolan Bushnell, Pong became the foundation for Bushnell's legendary Atari company and ground zero for an industry about to explode. Continue reading...

Oh, to hold that wooden ball in your palm and ponder the possibilities. You've studied the prize case carefully. You've smudged the glass and maybe endured a weary eye-roll from the arcade attendant. No matter. Be it the candy necklace or the magic card trick or the baton or the kazoo, you know how many tickets it will take to claim your prize and you know what you have to do. Roll up your sleeves, say a little prayer to the aiming gods and take a deep breath. It's time to roll some Skee-Balls. Continue reading...

The video game console wars of the early 80s were reminiscent of the video format wars a few years earlier, where VHS won the popularity contest hands-down, yet Betamax still boasted a better quality. In this arena, the Atari 2600 played the role of the VHS tape and underdog challenger was Mattel’s Intellivision, a fine little video game system that never quite captured the same spotlight, but will forever be remembered by many from that era as the superior system. Continue reading...

When the 70s arrived, the old fortune-telling machines of yesteryear seemed a little quaint and outdated. Realizing that Zoltan wasn’t earning a fair share of quarters any more, it was time to pull out the big guns and display the amazing technological leaps that had occurred in the fortune prediction industry. It was time to unveil the Biorhythm machine. Continue reading...